- Bucks two-way player Lindell Wigginton exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols this week, according to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). Wigginton entered protocols last weekend after signing with the team earlier this month.
Sixers center Joel Embiid, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nets forward Kevin Durant have been named All-Star starters from the Eastern Conference frontcourt pool.
DeMar DeRozan (Bulls) and Trae Young (Hawks) are the conference’s guards who will join them as starters, NBA Communications tweets.
Durant will be a team captain because he is the All-Star starter from the East with the most fan votes in the East. However, he’s currently sidelined by a knee injury and isn’t expected to play in next month’s All-Star Game at Cleveland.
DeRozan was the leader among Eastern Conference guards in the fan voting. The fan vote counted for 50% in the selection process, with player voting accounting for 25% and the media getting a 25% say.
It will be DeRozan’s third All-Star start and fifth All-Star game. In his first year with the Bulls, DeRozan is averaging 26.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 4.8 APG. All of the starters from the East are among the NBA’s top six scorers, led by Durant (29.3 PPG) and Embiid (29.0 PPG).
Prior to sending Cam Reddish to New York, the Hawks discussed the framework of a trade with the Celtics that would’ve sent Reddish and Kevin Huerter to Boston in a deal for Marcus Smart, reports Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Huerter is one of 11 players affected this season by the poison pill provision, complicating salary-matching in any trade involving him, but the deal described by Fischer theoretically would’ve worked for both sides if Atlanta had included another minimum-salary player (likely Solomon Hill).
Smart ultimately stayed put, and Fischer says it would take “significant value” for the Celtics to move him in another deal in the next two weeks. According to Fischer, there’s a sense around the league that the Celtics will be better in the second half than they were in the first half, as long as they’re healthier and first-year head coach Ime Udoka gets more comfortable.
Here a few more trade notes and rumors from around the Eastern Conference:
- One team contacted by the Hawks told Bleacher Report that Atlanta wanted a “valuable” first-round pick and a starting-caliber player in exchange for John Collins. Other teams think the Hawks could get even more than that for Collins, says Fischer.
- According to Fischer, the Raptors and Pacers at least briefly discussed a trade involving Domantas Sabonis and Pascal Siakam, but those talks stalled. The concept makes some sense in theory, since it would allow Myles Turner to be the lone center in Indiana, and Toronto has long been in the market for a five.
- Since Brook Lopez‘s recovery timeline remains up in the air, the Bucks are “poking around” the market for a center, with Suns big man Jalen Smith mentioned as a possible target, per Fischer. Semi Ojeleye is considered to be available and Milwaukee has received inquiries about Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo, Fischer adds.
- A handful of teams have expressed some interest in Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman, including the Spurs, Hornets, Mavericks, and Bucks, writes Fischer.
A report earlier this week stated that the Rockets appear increasingly likely to hang onto Eric Gordon through this season’s trade deadline, but Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report hears that Houston – in discussions with rival teams – has conveyed confidence about receiving a first-round pick in exchange for Gordon.
Unless the pick is heavily protected or they’d have to take a really bad contract or two back in return, it’s hard to imagine the Rockets would turn down the opportunity to acquire a first-rounder for the 33-year-old guard, who doesn’t fit the their rebuild timeline.
While there may have been some truth to The Athletic’s report about the Rockets’ desire to keep Gordon for his leadership abilities, I suspect the team is posturing at least to some extent in an effort to get teams to increase their offers.
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- An earlier report on Christian Wood linked him to the Heat, stating that Miami has been one of the most “persistent” teams engaging with Houston in conversations about Wood. Fischer confirms the Heat have been frequently mentioned recently as a potential suitor for the big man.
- According to Fischer, word of a possible Wood/Duncan Robinson framework has circulated around the league, but the Rockets would certainly require a far greater return for their leading scorer, rebounder, and shot-blocker, who is on a very team-friendly contract (Wood will earn $13.7MM this season and $14.3MM in 2022/23).
- Rockets center Daniel Theis has been generating significant interest, Fischer reports, naming the Hornets, Bucks, and Raptors as teams that have inquired on the big man. Fischer also confirms that the Celtics have checked in on Theis, as previously reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
- Eric Nehm of The Athletic provides a trade deadline primer for the Bucks, noting that Milwaukee is limited in potential deals by being a luxury tax team. He believes Robert Covington, Larry Nance Jr. or P.J. Washington could theoretically fit well with the team, but creating the frameworks for those trades is difficult. Goran Dragic, Thaddeus Young, Robin Lopez and Mike Muscala are names to watch on the buyout market, according to Nehm.
Pelicans rookie wing Trey Murphy III entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Monday prior to New Orleans’ win over Indiana, according to the team (via Twitter).
The 17th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Murphy has played a minor role for the Pelicans this season, averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 36 games (12.8 MPG). The 21-year-old hasn’t logged more than three minutes in a game since December 28, so his absence didn’t affect the club’s rotation on Monday. He’ll remain in the protocols until at least this weekend unless he can exit early by registering two consecutive negative tests 24 hours apart.
Here are a few more protocol-related updates from around the league:
- Nuggets forward JaMychal Green is no longer on the team’s injury report, indicating that he has exited the COVID-19 protocols, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post tweets. Jamal Murray is the only Nugget still in the protocols, and he’s not ready to return from his ACL surgery yet anyway.
- Bucks two-way player Lindell Wigginton entered the protocols over the weekend, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Wigginton is the only Milwaukee player currently in the protocols.
- As our health and safety protocols tracker shows, there are currently 12 players in the protocols. Only the Grizzlies (three players) and Pistons (two players) have more than a single player affected at the moment. We’ll continue to update that tracker going forward, but since the number of players entering and exiting has declined significantly in the last couple weeks, it will likely be updated just once or twice per day, rather than several times.
- The Bucks issued a statement voicing their displeasure over Grayson Allen‘s one-game league suspension, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Allen’s hard foul caused Caruso’s wrist injury. “We disagree with the suspension. We support Grayson and look forward to him rejoining our team for Friday’s game vs. New York,” the statement read. The Bulls, on the other hand, feel Allen barely got a proverbial slap on the wrist. Nikola Vucevic said, “The play Grayson Allen made has no place in basketball,” adding that it was a “very, very dirty play,” K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets.
The NBA has suspended Bucks guard Grayson Allen for one game without pay as a result of a flagrant foul 2 on Bulls guard Alex Caruso, the league announced on social media (Twitter link). The league deemed the contact on the play to be “unnecessary and excessive.” Allen will serve the suspension on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at Cleveland.
Caruso suffered a fractured wrist as a result of the hard foul and will be sidelined at least six-to-eight weeks. Bulls coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic (via Twitter), that Caruso’s wrist surgery will take place Monday morning.
“For Alex to be in the air like that and for him to take him down like that, it could’ve ended his career,” Donovan said as part of a larger quote, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Donovan also noted that Allen “has a history of this.”
Caruso has averaged 8.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game this season and is one of Chicago’s best defenders. The Bulls are already missing several players due to injuries, including Zach LaVine (knee), Lonzo Ball (knee), Patrick Williams (wrist), Javonte Green (adductor) and Derrick Jones Jr. (knee).
The Bucks are currently 30-19 and the No. 4 seed in the East, while the Bulls are 28-16, the No. 2 seed.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer is defending Grayson Allen after he committed a Flagrant 2 foul Friday night that caused Bulls guard Alex Caruso to suffer a fractured wrist, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Allen has been accused of dirty play since he was in college, and Chicago coach Billy Donovan raised those allegations after Friday’s incident, saying that Allen “has a history of this.”
Speaking to reporters before tonight’s game, Budenholzer offered condolences for the injury, but said he doesn’t believe Allen did anything to purposefully put Caruso at risk.
“Competition is tough and there are things that happen in the games that are unfortunate,” Budenholzer said. “And I know that Caruso is going to miss some time and I feel for him. I don’t want that for any of our opponents, for anybody, but there was nothing that was done intentionally.”
The league office is still reviewing the play to determine if there will be further punishment for Allen, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Caruso didn’t think his injury was serious when he left the arena Friday night, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. He and the Bulls found out this morning that the wrist is broken, which will sideline him for at least six-to-eight weeks. Johnson points out that this was only the second game back for Caruso after weeks of dealing with hamstring and foot injuries, along with a lengthy stretch in the health and safety protocols.
- Despite being one of the league’s best shot blockers and part of the Pacers‘ foundation for the last six and a half years, Myles Turner is no stranger to trade rumors. In an interview with Mark Haynes of ClutchPoints, Turner says he has gotten accustomed to hearing his name thrown around. “I would say the first time I’ve dealt with trade rumors was probably like four years ago,” Turner said. “I didn’t know what to think of it. As the summers progressed, I kept hearing more things, and that stuff was almost getting done. I kind of got used to hearing it all the time. I just took it as part of the business.”
- Lauri Markkanen‘s versatility has enabled the Cavaliers to succeed while starting three big men, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “People get so caught up in his offensive game — shot-making, shot-taking — that they don’t pay attention to all the other things that he does for us,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We would not be able to play the lineup and the size that we play without him. Us being unique and different is because of him and his ability to do that. We don’t lose sight of that. We don’t let him lose sight of that.”
- Jrue Holiday returned to action on Wednesday after missing six games due to left ankle soreness. Though he only scored nine points in 22 minutes, he gave the Bucks a boost in numerous areas, Eric Nehm of The Athletic writes. “Wish I had a little more (time on the floor), but I think just trying to get my timing back, get my legs back, get my feel for the game back,” Holiday said. “I feel like I haven’t played in a long time, so just trying to get back right.”